Black Hair Tips

For women with black hair, many different challenges may arise when styling black hair. Typically, black hair can be course and wiry, so choosing a hairstyle that is right for your hair can be tricky. Many women with black hair are desirous of sleek and shiny hair. Thanks to many styling tips and products available today, this is not difficult to achieve. Follow these simple tips in this article and you’ll be on your way to sleek and shiny black hair!

Hair growth is a huge factor in achieving beautiful black hair. As such, it is important that you are aware and informed about different factors that affect hair growth. For example, genetics can play a big role in how black hair grows. If one family member has difficulty wearing one style, then it is likely another family member will not either. When deciding how long to go with your black hair style, consider your other family members hair types. Hair growth is also affected by overall health and genetic illnesses. If you carry illnesses such as thyroid conditions or lupis, these will significantly affect the way your hair grows.

Another determining factor in wearing a longer black hairstyle is your overall health. It is very important to practice a healthy lifestyle including a well-balanced diet and avoiding harmful toxins such as in alcohol or cigarettes. Keeping the hair clean and healthy and maintaining a healthy scalp also improves the way black hair feels and looks. Try to avoid using greasy or oily products on your hair as these clog the pores on your scalp. Other things to avoid on a daily basis are bleaching of the hair, relaxing, using hot irons or curlers and very hot blowdrying. Keep up on split ends by trimming them often to maintain healthy and moisture rich hair. If followed and kept up on, these tips allow for any number of long and sleek black hair styles.

Rich in cultural history and popularity is the wearing of dreadlocks in black hair. This style is sometimes called “locs”. Before creating dreadlocks in the hair, it is very important to wash, deep condition and oil your black hair prior. Upon doing this, it is possible to create locs on both dry and wet hair. If you do decide to create dreadlocks on wet hair, then be sure to allow the locks to sun dry or blow dry them to ensure they set properly.

To start creating dreadlocks, you must first have sections of the hair braided. The thickness of the braided sections should be about the thickness you would like your dreadlocks to be. When deciding on your size of locks, keep in mind that after about one month, your dreadlocks will start to expand, so try not to go too wide in the beginning.

When your size of braid is decided, start braiding! Small, individual braids are put in throughout the head. Make sure your hair is long enough to create tight and decent sized braids. For short hair, use a rattail comb or make a comb twist, for best results. For very thin black hair, use smaller braids and smaller tools to create smaller locks. These locks will typically last a number of weeks and definitely look better in thin black hair. For very long hair, it is helpful to use a sticky gel or beeswax in order to prevent clumping or tangling in the braid.

Finger twisting is another great technique used when creating dreadlocks. Hair must be at least ½” in order to utilize this technique on black hair. The hair is gathered in very small sections. Apply styling product as needed for hold. Next, use your finder to twirl the hair creating individual coils with each section. Use bobby pins to secure the dreadlocks if needed. Sleep with a scarf over your hair at night as this will prevent frizz.

Palm rolling is another great way to get dreadlocks. Black hair must be at least 3” long for this technique. Use styling product throughout hair in each of your hair sections. Take each section between the palms of your hand and rub back and forth for a few minutes. Doing this will create a spiral type of dreadlock in black hair.

One final way to achieve dreadlocks in black hair is using a two-strand twist technique. For hair that is a minimum of 2” long, this technique is very useful. Each section of black hair is separated into two equal parts creating a double strand. Apply a small amount of styling product and start twisting the two strands around each other. This is different from braiding, which requires three strands. The twisting of two strands of black hair will create a rope-like dreadlock. This dreadlock is often the most favored style of dreadlock for black hair.